Holy Grail of Gigs

Information: Interview with Mark about the 2011 Hunters and Collectors Sydney V8’s gig.

Author: Sydney Morning Herald.

Date: 2 December 2011.

Original URL: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/holy-grail-of-gigs-20111201-1o7is.html

Article Text

Pick of the week

Ask Mark Seymour what motivated Hunters & Collectors to reunite for the Sydney Telstra 500 V8 Supercars concert and the answer is simple.

”My manager rang me and said, ‘This is the deal that’s on the table and it’s worth this much money – would you be up for it?’ and I said ‘yep’,” the frontman reveals.

Cold hard cash aside, the pub rock icons’ historic show on Saturday night, alongside John Farnham, Noiseworks and James Reyne, will be their first full set since the band was permanently garaged in 1998.

Two years ago, they played seven songs at the Sound Relief benefit concert in Melbourne but this time Seymour says fans can expect a ”very big and epic” set reaching back to their earliest hits.

But the now-established solo artist is quick to douse any rumours of a full-time reunion. ”At this point, it’s just a one-off and we’re not even considering anything down the track until we know we can pull this off,” he says.

The Hunters’ reunion leads an impressive roster of entertainment at this weekend’s V8 grand final race, with hip-hop crew Bliss N Eso playing tonight, supported by Jebediah, the Herd and Calling All Cars. MC Max ”Eso” MacKinnon admits he doesn’t even have his licence but says the group are quickly becoming V8 veterans.

”We played at the Gold Coast race and it was a great vibe,” he says. ”It was an older crowd but if there were people there that weren’t enjoying it, we didn’t see them.”

The three-day event also features the Armor All Auto Show, the Disney Pixar CARS Truck tour for kids (complete with training track and slot cars) and sports skill clinics with sports stars from all codes.